Sciatic nerve relaxer

ABSTRACT

A pair of identical pressure applying members for use in treating pain in the sciatic nerve of a person, the members each consisting of a cylindrical bottom section and a conical top section extending upwardly from the top of the cylindrical section. The height of each member is about two and one half inches with the diameter being about two and one quarter inches and with the height of the bottom section being about one quarter of the height of the member. The members are adapted to be placed under a person lying on a flat horizontal surface with one member under the buttock of the person on the side of the person where the pain is and the other member under the knee of the person on the same side.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Technical Field

This invention relates to a kit for use in treating sciatica. Theinvention also relates to a pair of pressure applying members for use intreating sciatica.

2. Background Art

Sciatica is an inflammation of the sciatic nerve and can be quitepainful. There are two sciatic nerves in the body, one for each leg.Each nerve originates in the lower back and passes through a buttock toits respective leg, the nerve passing under the piriformis muscle in thebuttock. The main branch of the nerve continues down the leg to behindthe knee and then branches to the calf, the lower leg and all the way tothe tips of the toes.

The sciatic nerve affects all leg functions including muscleinnervation; proprioception; reflexes; skin innervation and even has aneffect on the leg blood vessels thereby affecting circulation. Sciaticpain is manifested by pain going to the buttock usually on one side orthe other. The pain may irradiate to the knee or lower leg to the footindicating a more severe sciatic irritation. Symptoms may includeparasthesia, leg weakness, muscle paralysis, foot problems, vasculareffects and edema. There are many causes for sciatica and it is a verycommon aliment.

There are many types of treatment for sciatica. Very stronganesthectics, manipulation by chiropractors, stretching byphysiotherapists, acupuncture, or even spinal surgery are some of thetreatments. In treating sciatica it has been found that doing deeppressure point work manually with the hands at two specific points, theback of the buttock and the back of knee, helps relieve the pain andirritation of the sciatic nerve in most patients. The back of thebuttock and the back of the knee are two well known nerve treatmentpoints in acupuncture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is the purpose of the present invention to provide a device thatallows a person to treat himself at home with deep pressure point work.The device comprises two identical shaped members, shaped and sized toprovide deep pressure both to the buttock in the region of the sciaticnerve and to the back of the knee in the region of the nerve. Themembers have a cylindrical bottom section with a conical top sectionextending up from the top of the cylindrical section. The diameter ofthe base of the conical section is slightly greater than the height ofthe conical section and the height of the cylindrical section is aboutone quarter of the height of the member. The cylindrical bottom sectionhas a flat base to allow the members to be placed on the floor pointingupwardly. The size of the members is important. They must be long enoughto reach the nerve deep in the buttock. The member used with the kneecan be the same length as that used with the buttock since a person'sknee, when lying down, is slightly raised and thus a relatively longmember, as long as the member used with a buttock, is needed to applydeep pressure to the back of the knee. The shape of the members is alsoimportant. To apply deep pressure similar to that provided manually, theends of the members are shaped to like fingertips being slightlyflattened at the center and then rounded at the sides of the flattenedarea.

The person using the members lies on the floor, placing the members onthe floor, pointing up, under and into the buttock and under and intothe knee in the vicinity of the pain and rests on the members for arelatively short time to relieve the pain. The treatment can be repeateda number of times a day depending on the severity of the pain. Thelength of treatment can vary between three to five minutes. Thetreatment provides a pressure stimulus at a strategic point along thenerve. The deep pressure will help to relax the afferent and efferentfibres, which comprise the main structure of the nerve, thereby reducingpain and helping heal the inflammation. The size of the members isimportant

The members preferably form part of a kit that includes a package forthe members and instructions with the package informing the user how touse the members. The instructions can be printed on the package or cancomprise a separate member such as card or a sheet of paper carried bythe package.

The invention is particularly directed toward a pair of members for usein treating pain in the sciatic nerve of a person. The members each havea cylindrical bottom section topped by a conical top section. The bottomsection has a flat base and the top section has a slightly flattenedtop. The height of the member ranges from between about two and aquarter inches to about three inches and the diameter of the memberranges from between about two inches to two and a half inches. Thebottom section has a height of about one-quarter of the height of themember and the top section has a base with a diameter slightly greaterthan the height of the top section. The members are adapted to be placedunder a person lying on a flat horizontal surface with one memberupright on the surface and under the buttock of the person on the sideof the person where the pain is and the other member upright on thesurface under the knee of the person on the same side of the person asthe first member.

The invention is also particularly directed toward a kit for use for usein treating pain in the sciatic nerve of a person. The kit comprises: apackage; a pair of members carried by the package; and instructions withthe kit stating how the members are to be used. The members are adaptedto be placed under a person lying on a flat horizontal surface with onemember upright on the surface under the buttock of the person on theside of the person where the pain is and the other member upright on thesurface under the knee of the person on the same side.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the members;

FIG. 2 is a top view of a member;

FIG. 3 is a cross-section view taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a top view of a person lying on the members showing theirapproximate placement under the person during use of the members; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a kit having the members.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The members 1, 3, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 are identical so only onewill be described in detail. Member 1 has bottom cylindrical section 5and a top conical section 7 extending up from the top of the cylindricalsection 5. The cylindrical section 5 has a flat base 9 and the top 11 ofthe conical section 7 is slightly flattened and rounded. The member 1has an overall height ranging from about two and a quarter inches toabout three inches and preferably from about two and one quarter inchesto about two and three quarters inches. The diameter of the cylindricalbottom section 5 can range from about two inches to about two and a halfinches and preferably is between two and an eighth inches and two andthree eighths inches. The height of the cylindrical bottom section 5 isabout one quarter of the height of the member 1. The conical top section7 has a base with a diameter slightly greater than the height of the topsection. The top 11 of the conical section 7 is slightly flattened, theflattened area 13 being less than one quarter of an inch in diameter.The flattened area 13 is joined to the side 15 of the conical section 7by a rounded edge 16, the radius of the rounded edge 16 being about thehalf the diameter of the flattened area 13.

The height, diameter and shape of the members 1, 3 are selected toprovide firm, deep pressure to the nerve while being stable in anupright position. The cylindrical section 5 at the bottom of the memberssaves material while providing the desired height and stability for themembers. Members with a lower height than the minimum height describedwould not reach deep enough in the buttock to affect the nerve whilemembers with a greater height than the maximum height described would betoo uncomfortable to lie on. The shape of the conical section 7 also isselected to provide firm, deep pressure without being undulycomfortable. Too steep a conical section would be too uncomfortablewhile too shallow a conical section would not be effective enough inapplying pressure. The shape of the top 11 of the conical sectionapproximates a fingertip shape and applies concentrated pressure withoutuncomfortable pain at the point of application.

The members 1, 3 can be solid members but preferably are hollow as shownin FIG. 3 with the open bottom 17 closed by a flat circular panel 19joined to the bottom edge 21 of the member by a suitable adhesive. Thepanel 19 forms the base 9 of the member. Before the panel 19 is attachedthe two members 1, 3 can be joined by a flexible cord 25. The cord isabout two and one half feet long. Each end 27 of the cord 25 is passedthrough a hole 29 in the wall of the member near the base and knotted asshown at 31 before the bottom panel 19 is attached. The cord 25 merelyprevents one member from being lost from the other member. If themembers are solid, holes can be drilled into the sides of the membersnear the base and the ends of the cords can be embedded with adhesive inthe holes.

In use, as shown in FIG. 4, a person lies on the floor on his back andplaces one of the members 1 upright on the floor just under the buttockon the side of the person where the pain is. The member 1 is generallycentered in the buttock B about the center of the buttock. The secondmember 3 can also be placed upright on the floor just under the knee.The user then rests on both members for between three to five minutes,the person's weight causing the flattened tops 11 of the members toapply deep pressure to the inflamed sciatic nerve in the buttock andknee regions. The procedure can be repeated two or three times a day,always for a relatively short period. The members can be usedindividually, but it has been found that better results in relievingsciatic pain are obtained by using both members simultaneously. It is asif the members have a synergetic effect.

The members 1, 3 can be sold as part of a kit 35. The kit 35, as shownin FIG. 6, includes a package 37 holding the members 1, 3 andinstructions 39 for the use of the cones. The instructions 39 can appearon a separate sheet 41 packed in the package 37 along with the members1, 3. Alternatively, the instructions can be printed on the package 37.The package 37 can be made of cardboard folded to provide a parallepiedshape; a flexible plastic bag; or a rigid plastic container as shown.The instructions 39 forming part of the kit 35 would includeinstructions where to place the members for treatment, the length oftime to rest on the members, and the number of treatments a day. Theinstructions on where to place the members could include a drawingshowing the approximate preferred areas of placement under a person.

1. A pair of pressure applying members for use in treating pain in thesciatic nerve of a person, the members each consisting of: a cylindricalbottom section and a conical section extending upwardly from the top ofthe cylindrical section, the bottom section having a flat base and thetop of the top section being slightly flattened; the height of eachmember ranging from between two and one quarter inches and three inches,the diameter of each member ranging between two inches and two and ahalf inches, the height of the bottom section being about one quarter ofthe height of the member, the diameter of the base of the conicalsection being slightly greater than the height of the conical section;the members adapted to be placed under a person lying on a flathorizontal surface with one member under the buttock of the person onthe side of the person where the pain is and the other member under theknee on the same side.
 2. A pair of members as claimed in claim 1wherein the top of the top section of each member has a flattened arealess than one quarter inch in diameter, the flattened area joined to theside of the top section by a rounded edge having a radius about half thediameter of the flattened area.
 3. A pair of members as claimed in claim1 wherein the members are hollow and are closed by a separate bottompanel at the base.
 4. A pair of members as claimed in claim 2 whereinthe members are hollow and are closed by a separate bottom panel at thebase.
 5. A pair of members as claimed in claim 1 wherein the members arejoined by a flexible cord long enough to have one member placed underthe buttock of a user while the other member is placed under the knee ofa user.
 6. A pair of members as claimed in claim 2 wherein the membersare joined by a flexible cord long enough to have one member placedunder the buttock of a user while the other member is placed under theknee of a user.
 7. A pair of members as claimed in claim 3 wherein themembers are joined by a flexible cord long enough to have one memberplaced under the buttock of a user while the other member is placedunder the knee of a user.
 8. A pair of members as claimed in claim 4wherein the members are joined by a flexible cord long enough to haveone member placed under the buttock of a user while the other member isplaced under the knee of a user.
 9. A kit for use for use in treatingpain in the sciatic nerve of a person comprising: a package; a pair ofpressure applying members carried by the package, each member having acylindrical bottom section and conical top section extending upwardlyfrom the cylindrical section; and instructions with the kit stating howthe members are to be used; the members adapted to be placed on theirbottom section under a person lying on a flat horizontal surface withone member upright on the surface under the buttock of the person on theside of the person where the pain is and the other member upright on thesurface under the knee of the person on the same side.
 10. A kit asclaimed in claim 9 wherein the bottom section of the members have a flatbase and the top of the top section is slightly flattened; the height ofeach member ranging from between two and one quarter inches and threeinches, the diameter of each member ranging between two and two and ahalf inches, the height of the bottom section being about one quarter ofthe height of the member, the diameter of the base of the top sectionbeing slightly greater than the height of the top section.
 11. A kit asclaimed in claim 10 wherein the top of the top section is less than onequarter inch in diameter and the top is joined to the side of the topsection with a rounded edge, the edge having a radius about half thediameter of the flattened area.
 12. A kit as claimed in claim 9 whereinthe members are hollow and are closed by a separate bottom panel at thebase.
 13. A kit as claimed in claim 10 wherein the members are hollowand are closed by a separate bottom panel at the base.
 14. A kit asclaimed in claim 11 wherein the members are hollow and are closed by aseparate bottom panel at the base.
 15. A kit as claimed in claim 9wherein the members are joined by a flexible cord having a length atleast long enough to be able to place one member under the buttock of aperson lying horizontal on a flat surface, and to place the other memberunder a knee of the person.
 16. A kit as claimed in claim 10 wherein themembers are joined by a flexible cord having a length at least longenough to be able to place one member under the buttock of a personlying horizontal on a flat surface, and to place the other member undera knee of the person.
 17. A kit as claimed in claim 11 wherein themembers are joined by a flexible cord having a length at least longenough to be able to place one member under the buttock of a personlying horizontal on a flat surface, and to place the other member undera knee of the person.
 18. A kit as claimed in claim 12 wherein themembers are joined by a flexible cord having a length at least longenough to be able to place one member under the buttock of a personlying horizontal on a flat surface, and to place the other member undera knee of the person.